It wasn't just another loss on Friday night, it was a near-fatal blow that now leaves the Phillies 3 1/2 games off the pace in the Wildcard chase. It was a waste of a stellar outing from Aaron Nola. It was a disaster.

The bullpen combined to surrender 10 runs over the final two frames in an 11-5 loss to the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. This after Nola tossed six shutout innings before surrendering a run in the seventh.

From there, things spiraled out of control.

Jared Hughes, Mike Morin, and Edwin Garcia combined to surrender three long balls and 10 runs.

“Every game is so valuable right now, especially the games when Nola is on the mound,” manager Gabe Kapler told reporters afterward. “We have to find a way to win these games. We have to find a way to support him with runs early. I think that could be really useful. [Zack] Wheeler did a pretty good job of keeping us off-balance and executing with his heater. We weren't able to catch up to it.

“It's very disappointing. When Nola pitches for us, we expect to win that day. To not have that win under our belt to start off the series is tough. We'll come back tomorrow and fight again.”

The Phillies offense, which entered the series opener riding a bit of a hot streak, scored just one run over the first eight innings of the contest.

The two clubs resume their three-game set on Saturday with Jason Vargas facing lefty Steven Matz.
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